Chapter 1 : Into the New World

Ellis died.

She closed her eyes in exhaustion, sprawled on the sandy ground like a dish in a pan slowly fried from the scorching summer sun. Her breathing gradually started to become faint as time passed by, then there was darkness.

It was a very peaceful and simple death. There was no pain, no blood, nor is there any ounce of reluctance to leave. Truthfully, she was actually still very young, but she was already very tired. At the very least, she had still managed to survive 'til the end of the seemingly unending fighting for survival. She was already immensely satisfied.

The day the apocalypse arrived; Ellis was just a fifteen-year-old high school girl trying her best to study for a better future.

She still remembered that day vividly. There was a red rain. It covered every part of the world. At first, the people panicked, but as it didn't cause any considerable harm after a period of observation for months, they only merely regarded this strange phenomenon as an amusing topic to pass the time.

But who knew that it was actually only a calm before the storm. At a corner that no one had expected, the world started to change. At first it was just a little rat, then a cat, a dog, a human–it spread slowly and unnoticeably to the more populated places. When it was finally detected, it was already hard to stop–it was too late.

Just like that, the world plunged into chaos.

In the first month of the start of the apocalypse, the world's population of billions were immediately cut into hundreds of millions. In the sixth month of the apocalypse, fate still had a trace of sympathy and gave humanity a shred of hope by giving them superhuman abilities through natural human evolution. But in the second year, like a bad prank, humanity was once again driven into desperation as zombified humans simultaneously evolved as well, and mutated plants and animals began to appear, razing one base after another to the ground.

After five more years of painstakingly fighting to prevent the extinction of humanity. The world ended, leaving only Ellis who had finally wiped the Earth of its dangers.

Unfortunately, there were no more humans who could appreciate this.

Until the end, until humanity's extinction, none had found the cure nor the cause of this disaster.

Perhaps, the only explanation was that–the Gods had already abandoned them.

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Ellis, when she came to, already found herself floating in endless darkness. Her consciousness was intact, and she was well aware that she had already died, and although curious as to where she was, she very calmly only observed her surroundings without any fluctuation in her emotions. She seems to perceive that her body was glowing, but she wasn't sure as she couldn't see herself and there was no way to see as there's only an endless stretch of darkness in her sight.

But this state didn't last very long when she heard a cry of a child. The cry wasn't loud, even suppressed into choked sobs, but every sound made the endless darkness have a ripple, creating calm waves. Then, it was like her body was being controlled by a mysterious force and was in the direction of the cry. She floated in what seemed like a very long time before she saw a child huddled on the only patch of green grass in the darkness.

The little girl had purple hair, wearing white bloodied and mottled clothing as she cried herself hoarse. Ellis didn't speak, silently observing, her expression didn't change in the least. Unknowingly, her body that she originally couldn't see became visible at this moment. White slender feet slowly emerged, lightly touching the green grass on the small patch of land, creating a rustling sound. The sobbing sound instantly stopped.

"Are you here to take me away?" Asked the girl.

Ellis paused, before she answered, "...no."

"Then…who will take me away if not you?"

"...I don't know." Anyway, she wasn't here out of her own volition.

"I see." The child sounded a little lost. "Then–Then, can you accompany me here before the one who'd take me away arrives?"

Ellis didn't speak. She didn't agree nor did she refuse, but the child was already very happy. The child didn't restrain herself in front of a stranger, she talked about herself, her parents, and her hometown, not thinking whether who she was talking to would be a bad person or not. In the beginning, Ellis didn't speak and just continued to listen, but occasionally, she would interject in an emotionless tone. The child didn't mind and continued to narrate her short life. Those stories were sometimes strange–like how her dog ate a banana and became a banana the next day, incoherent, or naive. Up until the day that it was time for the child to get 'taken away', Ellis still couldn't understand what the purpose of her being here, is.

Ellis was, once again, alone in this endless darkness. That patch of green still remained there, and she sat in the same position with dull eyes staring into who knows where. Time passed once again. She closed her eyes tightly, and once she opened them again, she was suddenly faced with a pair of ignorant eyes.

Golden orbs with rounded yet vertical pupils, resembling the eyes of a young dragon yet to mature. Ellis blinked her eyes, and it was only then that she realized they were not the eyes of a juvenile dragon, but of a young boy.

"A—Are you alright?" The boy asked as he sniffed, worry evident in the boy's rasp tone.

Ellis remained silent, staring at the small boy in front of her.

The kid was quite emaciated and dressed in rags. The boy's face was covered in soot and grime, but Ellis could still see the boy's good genes with the boy's face that had been zoomed in front of her.

When the boy was about to get embarrassed by the heated gaze, Ellis blinked her eyes rapidly, and replied in a childlike tone, "I'm alright."

She then elevated her arms from where she was lying and took in her surroundings. The lighting in her current location was very dim, but it is also sufficient to view her surroundings thanks to the sun shining through the fabric roof. Observing the structure of the place, it appeared to be some kind of wooden vehicle.

A rustling sound was heard, and a palm of an adult man opened the curtain at the entrance of a vehicle, revealing a fierce looking face of a man with a knife-wound on his left eye.

Not noticing the thin frame of the little girl on the darkest corner of the wagon, the man's angry expression first landed on the little boy with golden eyes, saying in a harsh tone, "So fvcking slow. That girlie dead or not?"

The little boy trembled and once again sniffed, "N—Not dead."

Upon hearing that, the man with a scar's gaze scoured the whole wagon. Seeing the already up girl, he couldn't help but curse once again, "Fvcking hell, if you aren't some luxury goods, I would've left you to feed to the demonic beasts. God fcking damnit, wasting my time."

The man then left in a huff before shouting outside, "Get in!"

After that, other little boys and girls went inside the wooden wagon. Numerous little eyes looked at Ellis curiously, but each of them very obedient sat down simultaneously on the dirty wooden floor.

"Let's get moving! Move! Move! Move!"

A sound of a horse' neigh was heard, the wagon shook a little before she felt the wheels of the wagon rolling on the uneven dirt road.

Every child was huddled in every corner of the wagon, trying not to make too much noise to avoid getting hit by the adults outside.

The wooden floorings were very uncomfortable to sit on. Because the road wasn't even, the wagon often jumped up and down, making the whole journey two times more unpleasant.

Not a single word of complaint escaped through the children's eyes. Everyone is afraid of getting beaten by the adults, so they all obediently kept their mouths shut. Though, some of them still glanced at her, in the same curiosity but some looked wary.

Ellis couldn't understand their gazes, but it must've been from the incident from when she opened her eyes.

Ellis asked the little boy with golden eyes in a whisper, "Why did they get out?"

The boy sniffed and had a cold expression, imitating Ellis' face to look serious, "Well, you suddenly fainted and other kids tried to wake you up, but you won't. The adults said that you might've died due to the plague and had all other kids get down and sent me to check if you were really dead. But you're not dead, so everything's fine."

Ellis' eyebrows raised and she took her time to observe the other kids inside the wagon. Everyone wore similar clothing—dirty looking rags. Every kid varies in age and appearance, but although most of them look human, some of them had fantasy-like animal ears and tails, fairy wings, and elf ears.

Well, it was at the least obvious enough that this place wasn't that same damned world anymore. But why? Wasn't she supposed to be dead? For the first time after seven years, Ellis was hit with a sudden bout of confusion.

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It has been a week since Ellis awoke inside this dark little wagon, and today, they were still on their way to reach who knows where.

Ancient horse-pulled wagons were, of course, slower than modern cars, so it was not the least bit surprising that even going from town to town takes days to reach.

From her inquiries just the day before, it had actually been a month since they started travelling– (that is, when the body of the kid she was possessing was still alive). From those days, some children will get delivered to the neighboring towns for trade, and simultaneously, a new kid will get into this dark little wagon.

It wasn't strange for some kids to die halfway through the journey. They were either from sickness, a wild beast's meal, or from disobedience. Although, at the very least, to preserve the 'product', they still bring them the basic necessities to live on. But they wouldn't use expensive medicine for children with lower quality, so once sick or injured, you could only grit your teeth to endure and survive.

But, after all, they were all just children. They have weak bodies and similarly weak endurance. It wasn't long before they succumbed to inevitable death.

That was why, those who still remained are either those of higher quality than the other 'products', or those lucky enough to survive this far or with particularly high endurance. Unfortunately, the kid who was named Ruth, who originally owned this body had died due to a high fever, that was why the adult Ellis can possess this body. As for why she was here, or how she was here in the first place, that was to be found out later.

There were no mirrors here, but looking at her unclear reflection from the water of the bowl she was holding, it could be seen that the body of the little girl she was possessing was really a beauty. Add to that her charming purple eyes and pinkish-purple hair, it was really…an appearance that you'll be willing to spend millions for. Also, a very familiar face.

It was the face of that child crying in the darkness.

Ellis stroked the rim of the water bowl and looked at her face reflected on the water with indifference on her expression.

"Ruth?" A sniff was heard beside her. Upon hearing that, her face immediately cleared, and a small smile appeared on her face.

"What is it?"

"N--Nothing. It just felt like you were very very scary earlier."

Ellis--or Ruth, didn't answer.

The group passed through a river, and they stopped for a while to eat and rest. Horses were led to the water source to drink, while the children got out of the wagon, thick chains hanging on both their little feet and wrists.

A fire was lit, and a large pot filled with water, a little fat oil, salt, meat bones and mostly vegetables boiled together. It wasn't the best kind of food, but every little kid almost swallowed their tongues smelling the fragrance of meat. After the soup boiled enough, the cook let the little kids line up with wooden bowls.

Ruth was one of the first to line up. From the last few days, she had almost forgotten what cooked food tasted like.

A scooping spoon ladle in the large pot and hot soup poured in the tiny little bowl. Ruth quickly left and sat on a corner.

She looked into her soup and was a little disappointed to find that there was no boiled meat at all. But there were at least plenty of potatoes.

Ruth immediately scooped a little bit of soup to taste and immediately winced. Raw meat was way more delicious than this, she thought, but she still chewed it carefully, reminiscing about the warm sensation of cooked food inside her mouth.

The golden-eyed boy sat down beside her; his face didn't look very good while looking at the soup. He seemed to be in a trance, looking at the far distance in daze.

Even after they ate, the golden-eyed boy didn't say anything. There was obviously something wrong with this kid, but Ruth just glanced at him before averting her gaze.

—

It was very dangerous to stay out in the open inside the forest, so they went to find a cave to settle in for the day.

Embers of the fire flew out in every direction, looking like they were fireflies. Children were scattered in every part of the cave, barely able to sleep well into the cold night, but Ruth didn't sleep—perhaps, you could say that she didn't have the ability to sleep at all.

It had always been this way. Being exposed to countless life-threatening dangers, every living cell inside her body had long been taut in alertness. Even when her eyes are too close due to the natural needs of this body, especially that of a child's–every other minute, every littlest of sounds will make her wake.

She was naturally aware of her surroundings, so she immediately noticed that the golden-eyed boy also hadn't slept like her.

Ruth abruptly turned and looked into the golden-eyed boy's eyes. The other was naturally startled, not expecting that Ruth still wasn't asleep like him.

"Well, what happened?" Ruth lazily asked. Since she couldn't sleep anyway, it was better to ask this little boy what he was in a daze about all day.

The boy was a bit confused, and then he realized what she was talking about.

The night was very quiet. Except for the noise right outside the cave as the adults drank cheap liquor, there were only the sounds of crickets and the howling of wild beasts far from their cave-dwelling. The boy was considerate enough to talk in a whisper.

The boy sniffed, remained silent for a few seconds, before saying in a rare, dazed tone, "I saw…Vira, in the woods."

Vira was an elven race child with beautiful pink cotton candy hair and beautiful features. She had been brought here just a little while ago and became very popular with other kids because of her beautiful angelic smile.

Her right eyebrow raised. Ruth knew that the golden-eyed boy had a very favorable impression of her.

Judging from the boy's expression though, Ruth could more or less guess what he had 'seen' in the woods. But although she knew, she didn't interrupt him and just waited for the boy to continue.

"I saw Vira following an adult in the woods. I asked what she's going to do but…she just told me to mind my own business." The golden-eyed boy clenched the bowl in her hand and bit his lower lip. "I tried to follow and…."

"I saw that adult doing something to Vira. I don't know what was happening, but Vira seemed to be in a lot of pain…" The rim of his eyes started to redden, seemingly about to cry. "It wasn't just her; I've seen some of us who also followed an adult somewhere else, but–but–Ruth, doesn't that mean that that's what happened to them as well when they followed those adults? Then what about those who were sent to those towns? Were they–they–" He sounded very heartbroken, although he seemed to be on the verge of crying, anger, and hatred were more evident in his expression.

Ruth wasn't unfamiliar with this expression. She had seen similar expressions before.

In that damned world, those children also had them.

"Yes, they are." There was apathy in Ruth' tone as she said those merciless words. "Those who were sent away in the towns, also those other children who had been following them, they all experienced the same thing."

"B–But why? Children are–they are protected by the empire! They shouldn't be doing this! It's a crime worthy of execution!" Ruth eyebrows raised from what she heard and couldn't help but think, 'This kid, had he always been thinking that we were going on a field trip all this time?'

"Kid, only those who are caught will be executed. Right now, as you can see, they aren't caught yet, that is why we and those other children are still here."

"Then–then–we don't have to worry, my father is very powerful, he will surely find us and take us all back! Those criminals will surely be beheaded in front of the king! We just need to wait for them and surely–"

"It has already been a few months, kid. It's either they find us first, or we're sold off first. By then, it's already very hard to find the others who were sold off. No matter how powerful your father, it's impossible to retrieve countless children from different places."

The golden-eyed boy fell silent.

Ruth didn't find it pitiful, perhaps it was because she had seen too much of it, or just there was no other reason to feel pity, so she didn't comfort him and just closed her eyes. The night being so silent, the golden-eyes boy's sobs slowly reverberated throughout the whole cave. The other children didn't know the reason for those cries, but they all instinctively cried as well for different reasons. They all missed their parents, their siblings, and the warmth of their homes. They'd already cried enough when they first arrived in that dark little wagon, but they still couldn't help but shed heartbreaking tears one after another.

"Who the hell's so noisy?!" Like a rope that snapped, the sobs stopped. The children who cried covered their mouths to avoid being heard.

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